A Wintry Christmas

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 12, 28 December 1926, Page 5

A Wintry Christmas

Unkindly Weather Prevails CONTINUOUS RAIN. HOLIDAYS SPOILT. It will require people with fairly long memories to recall a previous occasion when the Christmas holidays received more unfortunate treatment from Jupiter Pluviu* than that which has this year been meted out not only to Hawke’s Bay but to the country at large. Kam commenced to fall on Christmas -Kva and continued practically without intermission throughout the two following days. On the Monday the downpour ceased for a time and •t appeared ks though there might be an improvement in the meteorological conditions but this hope was shortlived and by the afternoon the rain had once more set to work in earnest thoroughly to complete its mission of holiday-wrecking. The weather made its first really decided change for the better this morning when for a great majority nt the people the brief Christmas respite was over. VARIOUS SPORES ABANDONED. Various sports such as cricket matches and tennis tournaments were postponed or abandoned and many a long-looked-forward-to picnic arrangement had to be cancelled. Typical is the case of one large party of trippers which left Wellington with the intention of motoring through to Taupo, but on reaching Hastings on Sunday reluctantly decided that it would bo unwise to proceed in such bad weather. A far from exciting 36 hours was spent in Hastings and the party then retraced its tracks to the Umpire city. OHKKKLESS CHRISTMAS DAY. On Christmas Day rain was accompanied by a pronounced lowering of the temperature and in many homes fires were lit, which is not at all the sort of thing which one associates with Christmastide in New Zealand. Remarks were genera! to the effect that the prevailing conditions were as wintry as Yiiletide in the Old Country. IN WAIPUKURAU. The weather was very unfavourable for the Christmas season in Waipukurau and with the exception of the Waipukurau Jockey Club’s race meeting all outdoor fixtures had of necessity to be abandoned. The shopping returns generally are regarded as being very satisfactory in comparison with other years. CONDITIONS IN BRITAIN. SCARCITY OF GOAL. London, Dec. 24. Thousands of British families were unable, in the words of the war-time song, to “keep the home fires burning’’ this Christmas, because, strangely enough, coal is scarcer than at some periods during the six months’ strike. Merchants blame the railway companies, and the latter blame the merchants. 'The fact remains that the railway lines are blocked with ooal-laden trucks, yet householders are unable bo obtain coal. Even the King’s gift of coal to the poor of Windsor became lost on the railways and was found at Nuneaton yesterday, after covering 20 miles in twelve days. It was distributed at Windsor among 800 poor all over the age of 60 years.—(A. and NX.) COAL-OWNERS’ GRANT TO AGED MINERS. London, Dec. 25. Members of the Nottinghamshire miners’ new non-political union were pleasantly surprised by the receipt of a grant of £lO,OOO from the' coalowners, from which they paid ten shillings each to aged miners at Christmastide.—(A. and N.Z.) IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM, Paris, Dec. 25. The weather is so cold in Eastern France that wild beasts have been driven from the forests to seek shelter and food in the villages. A herd of hoars last night from the Argonne Forest invaded the suburb of Vitry le Francois and were hunted by an armed posse. The temperature in the Vosges is 16 degrees centigrade below aero. Gales, snow, and i« are reported even in Biarritz. Several deaths are recorded from the cold in Eastern and Northern France, while the Mediterranean coast reports an ineh of snowfall. Paris spent Christmas Eve in the traditional manner, supping in cabaret*, but the spirit of gaiety was distinctly more subdued than during the past few years. Currency troubles and the extreme cold are held responsible for the diminution of the celebration. Messages from Brussels also report that Christmas is quiet in Belgium, as the people have no money.— (A. and N.Z.) NEW SPIRIT LN 1927. Pari*, Dec. 25 President Doumergue gave the Press the fallowing Christmas message “1. like Dr. Stresemann and Sir Austen Chamberlain, am convinced that 1927 will see a new spirit and new conception of international affairs more widely spread through the minds of the peoples; and then there i®! really be something changed in the destinies of humanity.”—(A. and N.Z.) PROSPERITY IN UNITED BTATES. New York, Dec. 25. With trade agencies m New York and other large cities reporting Christmas purchasing of the greatest volume in the history of the country, the United States celebrated Yuletidc on a lavish scale. Large industrial corporations declared special dividends totalling more than five hundred million dollars, while bonuses distributed m the financial districts of New York and large business organisations throughout the country are expected to aggregate over two hundred million dollars. The charity distributions were unprecedented, the “New York Times" alone raising 259,1X10 dollar*, while the country total is. estimated at ffve hundred millions. ill* festivities in the large cities is reported to have assumed unprecedented heights. Night life was given tree rein, this Christmas has been dubbed "Prosperity Christmas.’’—(A.